Fire brigades deal with around 200 fires in agricultural sheds every year, statistics from the Department of the Environment show.

Between 2011 and 2015, fire services in each county dealt with a total of 998 fires in farmyards, figures obtained by the Irish Farmers Journal reveal.

Haybarn fires are the number one reason for farm call-out, according to TJ Carroll from Cahir Fire and Rescue.

Listen to "TJ Carroll from Fire and Rescue Service" on Spreaker.

Speaking at a trailer safety event in Cahir last Monday, Carroll said no one should hesitate to call the fire service.

He said where possible, machinery and other valuable items could be removed from sheds by trained personnel, but in some cases it was necessary to let the contents burn out. Where hay and straw are on fire, it may be necessary to let the shed contents burn out.

This is typically in the case of hay and straw, where the fire brigade hoses could quench the fire on the outside, only for it to re-ignite later.

Other call-outs include machinery fires, entrapment and crush incidents involving machinery and people being overcome by gases, such as methane from slurry.

He warned farmers not to attempt to move a person suspected of being overcome by slurry gases because they risked being overcome themselves.

Speaking to more than 200 farmers at the IFA-organised safety event in Cahir Mart, Carroll demonstrated lifting and cutting equipment used in the event of machinery and road accidents.